And then the moment came.<\/p>\n
I was invited.<\/p>\n
Pause.<\/p>\n
To hold her shoes.<\/p>\n
That was my red carpet debut.<\/p>\n
Flashbulbs exploding.<\/p>\n
\u201cSALLY! SALLY! OVER HERE!\u201d<\/p>\n
And there she was \u2014 radiant, fearless, completely at home.<\/p>\n
And behind her?<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
Holding the heels.<\/p>\n
And here\u2019s the truth \u2014 I wasn\u2019t embarrassed.<\/p>\n
I was learning.<\/p>\n
Because Sally never shrank in those moments.<\/p>\n
She took up space.<\/p>\n
She belonged there.<\/p>\n
And watching her taught me something I didn\u2019t yet know I needed to learn \u2014 how to stand in your light without apology.<\/p>\n
\u2e3b<\/p>\n
Through Sally \u2014 and because I was often driving J-R around \u2014 I found myself in rooms I had no business being in.<\/p>\n
Oscar parties.<\/p>\n
Backstage gatherings.<\/p>\n
Rooms filled with people you only see on magazine covers.<\/p>\n
One night, there he was.<\/p>\n
Bob Dylan.<\/p>\n
Sally had dated Bob Dylan.<\/p>\n
So suddenly I\u2019m backstage with Sally, with J-R\u2026 and Bob Dylan.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019m thinking,\u00a0What do I say? Do I quote lyrics? Do I pretend I don\u2019t recognize him?<\/em><\/p>\n Before I can figure it out, something extraordinary happens.<\/p>\n J-R walks in wearing cowboy boots.<\/p>\n Bob Dylan is wearing cowboy boots.<\/p>\n And instead of discussing music\u2026 or destiny\u2026 or fame\u2026or Spirituality<\/p>\n They talk about boots.<\/p>\n Leather. Stitching. Where they were made.<\/p>\n For a full minute.<\/p>\n Two icons.<\/p>\n Boot diplomacy.<\/p>\n And I\u2019m standing there thinking,<\/p>\n \u201cThis is either the most profound moment of my life\u2026 or the strangest.\u201d<\/p>\n And what I realized later was this:<\/p>\n Greatness doesn\u2019t need to perform greatness.<\/p>\n Sometimes it just notices the boots.<\/p>\n \u2e3b<\/p>\n Now let me tell you something about Sally that mattered deeply to me.<\/p>\n At a time when I was still largely unknown, Sally fought for me to be cast opposite her in a film.<\/p>\n Think about that.<\/p>\n An Academy Award nominee \u2014 at the height of recognition \u2014 risking her stature on someone who was still finding his footing.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t protect her spotlight.<\/p>\n She shared it. Promoting MSIA, J-R, John<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t guard her credibility.<\/p>\n She invested it.<\/p>\n That takes confidence.<\/p>\n That takes generosity.<\/p>\n That takes courage.<\/p>\n And she had all three.<\/p>\n \u2e3b<\/p>\n Later in life, I had the honor of casting her in\u00a0Spiritual Warriors<\/em>\u00a0and working with her again in\u00a0The Wayshower<\/em>.<\/p>\n Life is funny.<\/p>\n You start out holding someone\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n And one day you\u2019re directing them.<\/p>\n And Sally never made that strange.<\/p>\n She never made it hierarchical.<\/p>\n She was as committed in a spiritual film as she was on a red carpet.<\/p>\n Same fire.<\/p>\n Same dedication.<\/p>\n Same willingness to go all in.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t do anything halfway.<\/p>\n \u2e3b<\/p>\n And here\u2019s something people don\u2019t always talk about.<\/p>\n If you wanted to learn promotion \u2014 you studied Sally Kirkland.<\/p>\n This was before social media.<\/p>\n Before branding experts.<\/p>\n Before \u201ccontent strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n Sally was a promotional force of nature.<\/p>\n She believed in the work.<\/p>\n And because she believed in it, she made other people believe.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t wait for permission.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t wait to be discovered.<\/p>\n She moved.<\/p>\n She called.<\/p>\n She showed up.<\/p>\n She created momentum.<\/p>\n I learned from her.<\/p>\n Not just how to promote a film.<\/p>\n How to promote a vision.<\/p>\n How to stand for something and say, \u201cThis matters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2e3b<\/p>\n When I think of Sally, I don\u2019t just think of awards.<\/p>\n I think of movement.<\/p>\n Energy.<\/p>\n Audacity.<\/p>\n She moved through rooms like she belonged \u2014 because she did.<\/p>\n And she brought people with her.<\/p>\n Even the driver.<\/p>\n Especially the driver.<\/p>\n \u2e3b<\/p>\n Sally\u2026<\/p>\n Thank you for the red carpets.<\/p>\n Thank you for the cowboy boots.<\/p>\n Thank you for believing in me before I fully believed in myself.<\/p>\n Thank you for teaching me that light isn\u2019t something you wait for.<\/p>\n It\u2019s something you step into.<\/p>\n You didn\u2019t whisper your life.<\/p>\n You declared it.<\/p>\n And I was lucky enough to stand close enough to feel the echo.<\/p>\n Rest in peace, my friend.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll hold the shoes anytime.<\/p>\n Love you Sally!!!!<\/p>\n
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